12-16-12 RP Training Gate/Village
Participants: Sincarta Uchiha Jinsoku Miryuu Kihaku Sanada Hajime Shirogane The Early Morning Routine PyroSincarta: -Sincarta wakes up early in the morning as he looks at the clock beside his bed AM Huh....earlier than usual....but it won't hurt to get up now. He sits up on his bed and looks at his dresser. He sees a bundle of clothes laying there with a note on top. He stumbles out of bed and walks over and picks up the note and reads it. "Your father and I got you some new clothing. Hope you like them for these cold winter times. We love you." He smiles and tries the new clothing on; A nice new Uchiha embedded long sleeve sweater with room to move free, New ninja pants with the Uchiha symbol on ther side. A very nice thoughtful gift from his parents. He smiles as he looks at himself in the mirror liking the look alot. He goes into the kitchen and cooks himself up some ramen. He doesnt care if its not breakfast food he LOVES ramen! He puts it in the microwave and heats the ramen up quickly and takes it out and starts eating. In a mere 5 minutes the ramen would be gone as he gets up to wash the dish and puts it away. He goes to the front door and sees his bokken his parents got him as well. "Hmm...maybe I should do some training with that...heh." He grabs it as well and heads on out to the compound taking the usual path he always takes. He turns the corner and sees no one here. No wonder he got up too early there is no one here this early. Oh well. "I'll just train by myself!" He runs over to the training dummies and draws out his bokken and practices his swordsmanship as loud grunts can be heard.- JinsokuMiryuu: -Jinsoku's eyes all of a sudden opened after the few attempts to ignore the dim autumn light that flooded his small box like room, he rolls over to his side looking at the blue electronic numbers on his black digital clock that rested on his bedside table 5:00 He groas a little before making a few fake crying whimpers, He then snorts and throws himself off his bed and onto the floor grunting as he landed harder then he had anticipated. Jinso lays his hands flat on the floor and spreads his legs behind him, he rests the underneath of his toes onto the ground and pushes his upper body up and then lowers it back down slowly till his elbows are aligned with his shoulders, He continues to do the same push up technique 25 more times before standing to his feet and beginning to dress himself.- PyroSincarta: -Sincarta finishes practicing up on his swordsmanship. Now he decides to work on his shuriken throwing. He already knows how to hold and throw a Kunai now he must work on other weapons as well. By watching others throw shurikens he has been copying their movements on how to hold and throw them. He takes one out of his pouch and holds it between his fingers. He reaches back and thrusts foward as the shuriken slips from his fingers as it races its way towards the target and hits the head. He continues to do the same procees for about an hour then uses moving targets for 2 hours- JinsokuMiryuu: -Jinsoku slips on his normal black shinobi pants with the elastic ankle netting, He goes into his draw and withdraws 4 fresh bandages.. He wraps 1 tight round each ankle netting and 1 around each arm, from just below his elbows to his hands leaving half of his fingers bare skinned. He then struggles into his skin tight shinobi vest and mask combination and ontop of it his own rough white protective vest. Jinsoku peers around his room tapping his right index finger upon his bottom lip in thought.- "Now.. What will I forget today?" -Usually he wouldn't be to bothered but he expected news as to which team he would be placed on any day now so he was making extra efforts to look presentable to his potential team mates and sensei. He slides his feet into his black sandals and lifts his kunai pouch, Medical pouch and smoke bomb pouch off his clothes table and attaches them to his legs and the rear of his pants.- "Time to go I suppose." -Jinsoku does his usual routine of 'escaping' his interactions with his father and slides open his bedroom windown and hops out onto the balcony below and then bounds onto the dusty road below, He turned to face the centre of the village and slowly began making his way from the village outskirts.- PyroSincarta: -He stops throwing shuriken as he then ties weights to his ankles and goes for a jog around the village.- "10 laps around the village....I need to train...get better for when Sensei comes...I need to be ready!" -Sweat beads form on his forehead as he continues to jog around the village- JinsokuMiryuu: -Jinsoku had been walking about 15 minutes now, His house on the outskirts was a fair distance from the centre. He looks to his right as he turns the corner and sees a few jounin standing and chatting outside a restaurant, He smiles and walks past looking at the group intensely. One of them could of been his new Sensei.. It excited him that soon he'll be taking missions with a team, He let out a small chuckle and continued to walk towards the centre it now in plain vision his pace picked up to a slight jog.- A Rivalry Begins PyroSincarta: -Sincarta decides he should pick up the pace now and he begins to sprint quickly around the village in order to increase his regular speed. He sprints past a blue haired fellow with a white jacket on but doesn't pay any attention to him though he most definitely noticed him. He continues to run around the village now on his 3rd lap- JinsokuMiryuu: -Jinso looks up as the black haired, slightly shorter boy runs past him. He eyes up the boy thinking to himself again that he could be a potential team mate.. Over come with the possibility Jinso chases after the boy and starts to run beside him.- "Hey there.. I'm Jinsoku Miryuu." -He holds his hand up as a greeting and smiles warmly, waiting for any response as he matches his running pace.- PyroSincarta: "Gah!" -He was caught off guard by this fellow while he was concentrating on his speed. He looks over to him with a surprised look.- "Uh...hi.." -He looks ahead as he sprints dodging villagers trying not to run into them as he works on his reflexes as well as speed.- "I'm Sincarta Uchiha" -He picks up the pace even more getting ahead of him as he rushes past the ramen shop the scent following his trail for a bit as he sniffs. "Mmmm..." -He is now on his 5th lap- JinsokuMiryuu: -Jinso nods and looks forward himself making the required effort to dodge the villagers, Still matching Sincarta's pace.- "Smells good huh?" -He chuckles lightly, Jinso never had much love for ramen.- "Where are you heading anyway?" -He scratched his head and shut his eye for a moment before running straight into a vegetable stall, Being thrown a good 4 feet in the air and landing on his chest before being bombarded by the trailing tomatoes and lettuces that he had just hit- Deep in the Forrest SanadaKihaku: -I had managed to catch a few hours of sleep thanks to Jinora. But by the time i woke up , the sedative was no longer working. i was gritting my teeth the whole time as i grabbed my new outfit and got dressed. I grabbed my bokken from next to the nightstand, but as i strapped it on my back, i collapsed on my knees, as i gripped my left upperarm lightly.- graaaaaaaah!- i let out a small scream, but it was enough to wake up my dad.He immediatly came running into my room, with fresh bandages,small sciscors, a new gauze and burn ointment.When he had come to pick me up from the hospital,a medical nin had showed him what he needed to do to treat my injury and to ease my pain as much as was possible.He helped me up and sat me down on the bed,i was barely able to keep myself from screaming as the pain was now fully back.He slowly and gently unwrapped the bandage. He took a good look at my arm, it was starting to heal, but progress was slow, i'd be dealing with this injury for a long while. But it was okay, i would bear the excruciating pain. The pain was proof that i had passed Inkroe-Senpai his initiation test. My father had in the meantime cut loose the gauze, as he peeled it off the burnt skin as carefull as he could. i was groaning under my lipps , as i was fighting back the pain with all i had.When he was finally done he threw it on the pile of dirty bandages as he quikly grabbed the burn ointment and the gauze. HE poure dsome ointment onto the gauze, before carefully wrapping it around the worst area of the burn. THe moment i felt the soft,cold ointment on my skin, i felt the pain easing away.He finished off by wrapping the bandages around my entire left arm , even my hand. before he got up and just simply patted me on the head, he knew i wasnt in the mood to talk, because of the pain.. I got up, as my father headed back to bed. Hurt or not, i wanted to get my training done, hopefully Sensei, or even a teammate would show up to help me. I headed to the front door and sat down on the front porch. This time,i only strapped on my ankle weights and weighted belt.I couldnt wear the arm weights because of the injury.I put n my sandalls and strapped on my shinnguards.I then took my new long gloves as i put them on, being carefull around the left arm, i then grabbed my new protectors and strapped them, but not too tight.i then rushed out the door.The nurses had told me i only had a few hours to train, before the ointment would wear off and id be feeling the full pain again. So i dashed my way trough the village,using my left arm as little as possible, as i ran into the thundergod gate. I came out at the compound with a loud thunderclap and notices rubble, everywhere as the place was filled with construction workers. I walked up to them as i asked about what happenned, but all they could tell me was that there had been a fight here, thats was all they knew. I thanked the man for the information and so headed out the main gate,I molded my chakra as i ran out the gate, directing it towards my feet to form a cushion under them. I ran up the nearest tree and moved from branch to branch, though i had to alter my route. Because i wanted to spare my left arm as much as possible.because of the alternation in my route, it took me a whole hour to get to the center of the forest. I landed on my feet as i immediatly took a stance. I leaned back trough my knees, my right hand on my bokken its hilt, my left arm stretched horizontally in front of me. i dashed forward as i drew my bokken a shout escaped from my lipps. as i struck my bokken downwards in a vertical strike trough the air, immediatly followed by a right horizontal slash. The strike was followed by clock wise spin as i struck in a downward right diagonal slash.Blows followed one after the other, all precise and if there was an opponent accross of me hed be forced into a defensive stance,as my blows came faster and faste. In the midst of the strke i adde din a roundhouse kick that would have hit a real target against the head. i then rushed forward at the tree, striking it in a lunging strike with the bokken. I swiftly pulled back on the bokken as i thrusted my right forward against the tree, By now my body was getting exhausted, my breathing heavier. as sweat was trickling over my body.I sheated my bokken back into its scabbard. and dropped myself onto the ground. I started doing pushupps on both arms, causing me to flinch with every push-up i made. It was a painfull process, and by the time i reached the 100 tears were already rolling from my cheek,causing me to get exhauste deven faster as i was trying to catch my breath. After a few minutes i got back up and started running around the open area, my shirt was now covered in sweat, my bandage lighlty itching, but heavily irritated because of the sweat connecting with the burns. i was starting to groan as i ran, the pain slowly pushing trough thanks to the sweat, but i kept forcing myself forward. THe whole time i kept thinking: I have to make it torugh this pain, it will only make me stronger. This is my mark as a Takeda, this is a wound to be proud of.- I went as fast as i could, wich for me wasnt so hard, in only an hour i had reached 100 lapps around the big clearing. I kept going now occasionally allowing myself to scream from the pain. an Hour late ri finally reached 250 lapps, as i collapse don the ground and just sat there. I was literally gasping for breath, as i felt as if all the oxygen had been forced out of my body. The pain stinging constantly, as i tried to keep control of myself. AFterall i was deep int he woods, I'd have to scream of the top of my lungs for anyone to hear me>but that still wouldnt mean,theyd know where to find me.- SanadaKihaku: - an hour had passed and i forced myself back onto my feet, i could feel the sedative was starting to wear off,as the pain became more and more unbearable. I had to run to the BBQ shop as fast i could. SO my father could treat the injury again.I started running trough the forest as fast as my leggs would carry me. with each passing minute as i ran, the pain was once again getting worser. By the time i reached the compound again, i was gritting my teeth like crazy trying to hold back the urge to scream.I raced into the compound, and dived into the gate.I fell out the other side with a loud thunderous boom and went into a roll,landing on my feet and dashing off. I couldnt cope with the pain anymore as it was now fully back. I was running at top speed, as my breathing was taking over as i started screaming out form the pain . - GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA THIS IS TOO MUCH,GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!. -As i was screaming, people kept looking at me, not knowing what to think, as i passe dby some boys who were running on the rooftops. I rushed into the BBQ shop, ignoring everyone around me and went into the kitchen, shouting.- Daaaaaaaaaaaaad , help please...... - Once more i collapse donto the ground unconscious from the pain, tears rolling down my cheeks,as i layed ther eon the cold stone floor. - The Rivalry Heats Up! PyroSincarta: -His eyes widen as he runs right into a vegetable stall. He tries to stop running skidding to a stop as he looks back still jogging in place not stopping he jogs over and looks down to him trying to not laugh but he lets out a chuckle and speaks- "You ok there...?" -He chuckles a little louder as he turns around still jogging in place and says to him. "Try and keep up." As he takes off running through the crowd.- JinsokuMiryuu: -Jinso laughs a little as his face turns almost the same colour as the tomatpr that was next to his head.- "I'm okay.. Meant to do that." -He smirked before standing and grabbing a tomatoe chasing after Sincarta again, As he reaches with in 6 feet of him he brings up his right hand next to his hand and thrusts it forward releasing the tomatoe in it aiming for the back of Sincarta as he was running.- PyroSincarta: -He wonders if this guy decided to chase after him or lay in the tomatoes. He takes out a Kunai and looks into the reflection of it and sees that he following him and threw something at him.- "Ngh!" -He jumps off the ground by a little bit and turns around quickly to deflect whatever was coming at him. Instead of deflecting he....slices a tomatoe??? He turns back arounds and continues running quickly and yells out behind him- "TOMATOE? REALLY???" JinsokuMiryuu: -Jinsoku smiles, This boy was like him and had his wits about him.- " Well.. You laughed and I wasn't going to throw a kunai!" -Jinso burst out with laughter as he sprinted to run aside Sincarta again.- "I'm only kidding, So you training for something? Where's your team?" PyroSincarta: "Heh! I'm surprised your as fast as me...Jinsoku right? Heh...alright then..." -He listens to his questions as he answers.- "I don't have a team as of yet but I heard from some people that Team Setsuko has another member. As for training....I'm just training just to train...I wanna get stronger!" -He smirks as he speeds up more jumping on top of the roofs of the buildings.- JinsokuMiryuu: -Jinso nods and thinks to himself again, many things circled his mind nowdays.- "True I heard about Team Setsuko also.. Of the Hatake clan. And Mhm Jinsoku Miryuu. And speed is not my issue.. It's my stamina." -He began to pull away from Sincarta as if to challenge him to a small contest, Perhaps a rivalry was in blossom.- "We'll see what speed is, Shall we Uchiha?" -He burst out laughing starting to pace himself even quicker.- PyroSincarta: "Heh...let's see what you got then!" -He concentrates his chakra to his feet to allow him to gain more speed. He still has weights on but he wont take them off until later. He lifts off into the sky very high above him as he jumps to another building.- JinsokuMiryuu: -Jinso smirked and nodded, He began balancing even amounts of chakra perhaps not as much as Sincarta due to his stamina but with Sincartas weights it evened itself out.- "Alright friend.. Lets go." -He lunged himself through the air swinging on a horizontal pole for a second and releasing to propel himself higher and onto the roof parallell to Sincarta still matching his speed but concentrating on the typical roof obsticals like loose tiles and chimneys.- PyroSincarta: "Heh not bad...but..." -He goes into his pouch and grabs a smoke bomb throwing it at a chimney front of him hard as he explodes into a cloud of smoke. Sincarta would run into the smoke and quickly take of his weights off dropping them into the chimney and takes off at high speeds.- "LATER!!!!!" JinsokuMiryuu: -Not really wanting to but wanting to prove a point, Jinso charges more chakra to each foot balancing it picking uo high speed not as fast as Sincarta but close enough.- "Mer.. I guess you win ay?" -He laughs a little and slows himself down immediately to a walking pace acknowledging his defeat- PyroSincarta: -Sincarta continues to run on the rooftops and then jumps off somersaulting and sticks the landing and continues to do his laps. He finishes the 10th lap but does a victory lap around the village for extra measure and on the way he picks up the weights he dropped in that chimney. He puts them back on and jogs back to the compound and skids in his feet all worn out and panting- Outside the Gate: Hajime's Training HatakeHajime: Another early morning in Yonshigakure. At least it was for Hajime. Having now gathered his weapons and a pouch, Hajime felt that he needed to train to be the most accurate thrower out of all the incumbent Genin. Hajime knew full well how to throw his weapons. In fact it was one of his strengths, but he had to train a lot harder if he wanted to be the best at it. He may have wanted to be a Puppeteer like his father, but he needed something for back up in the case that his puppet becomes unusable to him. This is why Hajime decided to walk to the village gates again this morning. He was determined to train harder today then he did yesterday, and he was going to train tomorrow harder than he did today. No matter what happened, Hajime wanted to make progress happen. He held his book bag on his back, and several pouches full of weapons on his hips and thighs. Hajime was ready to do some good today. He was ready to train his butt off. He carried several items in his book bag, among those being the books he had taken out from the library yesterday. He had his Chakra Control textbook, Basic Jutsu textbook, and his book on Basic Taijutsu and Weapons Skills. With haste, Hajime ran to the tree upon which he had trained yesterday, and placed his bag it its base. From his back, he had taken out his manual on Basic Taijutsu and Weapons Skills, and a square plank of wood with a parget painted on it. Hajime then took from his pouch a kunai knife. With as much fore as he could, he pinned the knife into the tree. From the new perch, Hajime hunt the plank with the painted target. Hajime then sat in front of the target with his legs crossed over one-another, and grabbed hold of his Taijutsu and Weapons book. He cracked the book open to the unit on weapons and continued to the chapter on Senbon Needles. He began reading to himself in a whispered tone. “ Senbon are metal needles with a point at both ends. They often serve a medical purpose, being used to strike acupuncture points. They have little killing power, but can be thrown with great accuracy. A user with proper medical knowledge however, can effectively use senbon in battle to incapacitate or even kill their target should they aim for vital spots. To make these needles more effective, the user can poison the tips of the senbon. An added benefit of throwing these at the enemy is that these are smaller than a kunai or a shuriken, making it harder to see and dodge.” Hajime knew that Senbon Needles had an advantage, but had no idea that they yielded such a good advantage. Hajime was definitely interested in utilizing Senbons in battle. He closed his book, and stood about thirty feet away from the target. Hajime reached into one of the pouches on his hip. From which he pulled out six Senbon Needles. He held three in each of his hands—between the spaces of his fingers. He began training immediately. Hajime got into position and threw his fist forward, releasing the senbon needles—and ultimately, launching them at the tree. *Three Tacking Noises*. Hajime landed three hits on the wooden board. Sadly, they did not hit the middle of the target. He did get close, but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep Hajime satisfied. Hajime then placed the Senbons from his left hand back into his pouch. He was definitely not ready to throw six at once accurately. Hajime ran to the tree and retrieved his Senbons from the board, and ran back to his initial position. Hajime then studied the target thoroughly from his position. As fast as he could—and with as much force as he could—he threw the three Senbon forward, propelling them toward the tree. *Three Tacking Noises*. Hajime made another three hits. He was closer this time, but he still did not get one bull’s eye. With haste, Hajime repeated the retrieval process, and fell back into his position. Hajime took his formation once more, and forced his fist forward again, launching his senbons forward. *Three Tacking Noises*. Hajime looked at the painted board and noticed… He made a clean hit! One of the Senbons pierced a spot right along the edge of the bull’s eye. Hajime was pleased with himself, but he knew that he had to get better. Hajime retrieved his Senbons and began working a little harder. He launched the projectile needles once more. *Three Tacking Noises*. All three senbon hit… And one got inside of the bull’s eye—granted it wasn’t direct, but it was inside nonetheless. It was then Hajime became excited. With elation and determination, he retrieved his Senbon from the bored again. Hajime’s mind was running as well. He thought to himself about why only one Senbon would make it to the middle of the target while the other two would be drawn away if he threw them all at the same time. Hajime threw his needles once more. *Three Tacking Noises*. Hajime smiled as he heard the noises of the projectile needles hitting the board. “I got it!” Hajime shouted with delight. Hajime came to the conclusion that the senbon would spread apart from each other after being thrown. This is what hindered the process of the needles hitting the bull’s eye. Hajime’s new goal was to get them to stay closer together. This was not going to be an easy feat, but Hajime was prepared to train all day if he needed to. Hajime retrieved his senbons and fell back into position. He spoke to himself. “Now how do I do it? How am I supposed to keep them closer for a more accurate attack?” Hajime pondered this thought. It was obvious that his current method wasn’t efficient in the act of keeping his senbon needles closer together. Hajiime realized this, and decided to study his own method in order to fix it. Hajime then got into formation again. With haste, he threw his needles at the target. *Three Tacking Noises*. It yielded the same result. Hajime’s needles were spread out—one toward the middle, one toward the left, and the last toward the top. Hajime looked at his form after throwing. He stood in place—and completely still. Hajime stared at himself. He studied himself. All Hajime could think was… “Why?” Why were the senbon needles flying off track? What was Hajime missing? He thought that he might find some tips inside of the Taijutsu and Weapons text book. He did not leave a place marker, so it took him a moment to actually find the page again. Regardless, Hajime found the chapter once more and began to study. He bypassed what he had already read, and moved onto the next passage. Hajime began to read the section titled ‘Know your Throw’. This caught Hajime’s attention, and thus he began to read to himself. “Know Your Throw. To throw projectile needles (Senbon) properly, one must launch them forward.” Hajime thought to himself and placed his palm to his head. He knew that much already. He continued reading. “To throw a Senbon efficiently, one must slightly twist their wrist. This gives the Senbon needles an inward spin that keeps them closer together for a more effective strike.” Hajime’s eyes widened at the passage. He slapped the middle of his face with his palm and he kept it there as he shook his head. He spoke to himself. “How the heck could I be so dang stupid? Dang it all! How could I have NOT realized that?” Hajime was disappointed with himself—in both cases that he didn’t notice what he was doing wrong and in that he failed to check the book for further notes before he started practicing. Hajime, however, could not allow himself to get caught up in his own disappointment in himself. He had to persevere and continue practicing. Hajime ran to the tree once more, and retrieved his needles from the board once again. He ran back to his spot—thirty feet away from the tree—and fell back into his initial formation. Hajime was ready to get it right this time. Hajime forced his hand forward—with a slight twist in his wrist as the text book instructed—which launched his senbons straight at the tree. *One Tacking Noise*. Hajime landed all three shots in one specific area! Hajime smiled and pumped his fist into the air. “Freakin sweet! I got it! I got it!” Hajime’s celebration, however, was short-lived. He took a closer look at the board to see… “Oh, dang it!” Hajime landed all three hits in the same place… But that place was nowhere near the bull’s eye. “Dang it all!” Hajime retrieved his senbon needles from the tree and started over. He began practicing the throwing drill over and over again. He may have spent two hours before finally… *One Tacking Noise*. “Yes!” Hajime called out with some pride in his studies. Hajime landed all three senbon in one hit—and in a single area—right on the edge of the bull’s eye. Hajime practiced harder. He continued the retrieval process repeatedly—each after a very close shot. Hajime was having trouble reaching the bull’s eye, but he began to realize that reaching it was all just a matter of practice. As more time passed, Hajime practiced, and still hit the edges of the bull’s eye. He thought to himself that he could take a break. He had come far enough with direct throwing, and he could practice more straight throws later. *Small Amount of Panting Noises* Hajime wiped the sweat off of his forehead. “Man, I’m training like a dog. I hope Meisu gets to train soon.” Hajime thought about his brother in the hope that he might join him later. “I really hope he comes by…” Hajime was a little disheartened, but he knew he had to train to get better whether he was doing it with Meisu or not. During his break, Hajime once again picked up his Taijutsu and Weapons text book, and continued to read on throwing Senbons. “The more senbons one throws, the more difficulty they will have. Throwing more senbons takes more focus, and in some cases, it can take focus away from another set.” Hajime thought to himself as he read the rest of the passage about how he got build focus while throwing. He continued to read aloud. “Throwing multiple senbons requires a lot more practice than simply throwing one or two. One requires a lot of focus to get to sets of thrown senbons into the same place at the same time. For beginners, it is better that they learn how to throw two sets of senbons independent from one another. This produces better proficiency in senbon throwing and allows the wielder to follow in their own footsteps to accomplish the second throw.” Hajime pulled some water from his back pack and began to drink. As he drank his water, he thought hard about why his text book would say such a thing. Then it hit him. “If I launch the first set independently of the second set, then the first set could act as a distraction. If the first set hits then I can use the first set as a target to launch the second set at the same place.” Hajime smiled to himself and adjusted his goggles. “That’s why the book said such a thing!” Hajime was happy with his realization. As Hajime got up from his break, he retrieved three more senbon from his pouch. With haste Hajime got into position and fell into his formation. He threw his first set of projectile needles forward *One Tacking Noise*. The initial desired result was reached. Hajime got all three needles in the first set in a specific area—the same position as when he practiced; close to the bull’s eye’s edge. Now it was time to practice throwing the second set. Hajime kept to his formation, only this time he would be launching senbons from his left hand. Hajime kept in mind the principles from what he had read. With a steady shot, Hajime forced his fist forward, which launched the second set of senbons in unison. *One Tacking Noise*. All of Hajime’s needles from the second set his in unison as well. However, they were not as close to the first set as initially planned. Hajime did not get his desired result. Hajime ran to retrieve all six of his senbon needles and ran back to his little area thirty feet from the target. Hajime fell into his formation once more and began to study himself. He began to think out loud. “What did I do that made me miss the second shot by that much?” Hajime continued to lose himself in his thoughts. “Throwing the second set should not be this hard. It should be just like-“ It hit him. Hajime stood still in his position, and studied the board in front of him. He decided that just throwing the two sets was not going to help. He would have to keep a steady eye—and a steady aim. Hajime looked at the bored, and focused as much he could on the target—and even more so, on the bull’s eye. Hajime looked at his position once more, and after another quick study, focused on the bull’s eye again. With a steady eye—and a steady hand—Hajime launched his first set of Senbons. *One Tacking Noise* Hajime’s first hit landed right at the edge of the bull’s eye as expected. Again—with a steady aim at the target—Hajime launched more senbons *One Tacking Sound*… Hajime kept his eye on the target… Each set had all three senbons hit simultaneously… The two sets of senbons were indeed inside of the board. The first set—as stated earlier—was pinned in the edge of the bull’s eye. The second set… The second set was pinned directly above it! Hajime accomplished his goal! He spotted his accomplishment and smiled. He got super excited, and jumped up and down with elation. “Woot! I did it! I got it! I got it!” But Hajime knew he could not be too elated for too long. Hajime accomplished the exercise ONCE. He had a long way to go before he actually mastered anything. Hajime would spend the entirety of the morning practicing, waiting for someone—anyone—to possibly join him so he wasn’t working alone. He would prefer to have someone there to help him out and critique him. Regardless, Hajime had to do what he had to do. He stood there and continued to practice his throws.